#BetweenTheSheets: Power Rankings
Can #PCCC2022 and tour events shake up the rankings?
The inaugural Pan Continental Curling Championships wrapped up at Winsport Arena in Calgary over the weekend.
Canada (men) and Japan (women) became the first nations to hoist the new PCCC trophy and stand atop the podium.
On top of winning medals, nations were also competing for spots in the 2023 World Men's and World Women's Curling Championships.
When the last rock settled into the house to conclude the RR, we were left with the same nations securing those coveted tickets.
Korea, USA, Japan and New Zealand will head to Ottawa for the #WMCC2023.
Japan, Korea, Canada, USA and New Zealand will head to Sweden for the #WWCC2023.
Historic results for the Kiwi's as New Zealand's men will return to world championship ice for the first time since 2012 while the women created #HERstory by qualifying for the world championships for the first time.
We also saw tears of joy for the #PCCC2022 B-Division with Guyana's men and Chinese Taipei's women earning promotion to next year's A-Division.
Guyana played their final 3 games, including both playoff games, with only 3 players. Is 3 the new 4?
Chinese Taipei went undefeated in earning the gold medal, including defeating Mexico three times in three equally close games.
Having attended the event throughout the week and speaking to numerous athletes competing in both the A and B-division, there seemed to be unanimous agreement on the importance of this event.
Whether from the #growthesport lens to building a stronger sense of community among the two regions (Pacific-Asia, Americas) to having a set world qualification system in place, athletes were supportive of the new event and hoped to see it thrive in the future.
Could attendance have been better? Of course! But this is a new event and it takes baby steps before we can start walking and sliding down the ice remember.
An increased marketing plan and ticket price review could assist with the attendance in the future. Of course it also will depend on the host location. Hopefully, for at least one more year, the event can remain in Canada to build the event and set it up for future success with athletes and fans alike.
And for those "critiquing" the need for Canada or the USA to compete in this event, silence those thoughts. No nation is above the sport folks. All nations should have to qualify for a world championship spot.
Sure the host nation earns the auto qualifier but after that, if you want to be there, earn it!
It is no different from world championships in other sports. FIFA World Cup. FIBA World Championships. FIVB World Championships. Figure Skating World Championships.
There is a set qualification system in place for all those nations wanting to compete for a world championship. Even the best need to qualify.
Have you ever heard Sweden's Niklas Edin complain about having to qualify for the world championships via his results at the European Curling Championships? Nope! And if anyone would have an argument for a direct berth in the field, it would be the 6-time world champion.
But he gets it. The athletes get it. The sport needs it.
Plus, under this new system, we eliminate the old system of the last place nation at the world championships losing a direct qualifier spot for their region the following year. We can all agree that is a plus, no?
Remember, this is only year one of a new event. Give it time to grow before being hyper-critical of it. And look at it through not only the lens of your favourite nation but the macro lens of all nations competing. This is a win for both regions moving forward.
Besides, how cool is it to see nations like Brazil, Kazakhstan, Hong Kong, Guyana, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Qatar and others competing on international competitive ice?
If we want the sport to truly be global and we want to #growthesport, this event is a must to achieve those aspirations.
One slide at a time folks....give it time to grow on you before making haste judgements and remarks.
Before we dive into the results and update the Power Rankings, we need to celebrate those who picked up tour wins this past weekend.
Here is your weekend runback.
#TheRunback
Nations - Men
🥌 Pan Continental Curling Championships A-Division - Canada (Team Gushue) def. Korea (Team Jeong). Canada concluded the RR with a 6-1 record (lone loss vs. USA), tied for first with Korea and USA. Canada earned the #1 seed due to lowest DSC score. Canada defeated #4 Japan while #3 seed Korea defeated #2 seed USA in the SF. Canada defeated Korea in the RR as well. USA (Team Dropkin) defeated Japan (Team Yanagisawa) for bronze.
🥌 Pan Continental Curling Championships B-Division - Guyana (Team Husain) def. India (Team Raju). Guyana finished the RR with a 5-2 record, tied for second with India and Kazakhstan. Guyana earned the #4 seed based on DSC score. Guyana defeated #1 Hong Kong and #2 India defeated #3 Kazakhstan in the SF. Guyana defeated India in the RR. Hong Kong (Team Chang) defeated Kazakhstan (Team Zhumagozha) for bronze.
Nations - Women
🥌 Pan Continental Curling Championships A-Division - Japan (Team Fujisawa) def. Korea (Team Ha). Japan wrapped up the RR with a 6-2 record, tied for third with Korea. Japan earned the #3 seed based on their RR win over Korea. Japan defeated #2 seed Canada and Korea defeated #1 seed USA in the SF. Canada (Team Einarson) defeated USA (Team Peterson) for bronze.
🥌 Pan Continental Curling Championships B-Division - Chinese Taipei (Team Lin) def. Mexico (Team Camarena) in an extra end. Chinese Taipei went undefeated in the RR with a 6-0 record to earn the bye to the final. #2 Mexico (4-2) defeated #3 Kenya (2-4) in the SF. Kenya (Team Njuguna) made #HERstory by winning the bronze medal, the first WCF medal for the nation.
Men
🥌 Nufloors Penticton Curling Classic - Team Shuster (USA) def. Team Dunstone (MB). Shuster went 3-2 in the RR, needing to survive one of four TB games to qualify for the playoffs after winning their first 3 games and losing their final 2. They would not lose again, defeating Flasch (PO), Koe (QF), Gauthier (SF) and Dunstone (F) to claim the title. Dunstone also went 3-2 in the RR and survived the TB round to reach the playoffs. They defeated Bottcher (PO), Howard (QF) and Edin (SF) to reach the final.
🥌 Swiss Cup Basel - Team Whyte (SCO) def. Team Ramsfjell (NOR). Whyte went a perfect 6-0 over the weekend, qualifying for the playoffs via the A-side. Ramsfjell also qualified via the A-side, creating a battle of 5-0 teams in the final.
🥌 Curling Stadium Alberta Curling Series - Team Libbus (AB) def. Team Vavrek (AB). Libbus went 2-1 in the RR to qualify for the playoff round. They avenged their lone loss to Vavrek from the RR in the championship final. Vavrek was undefeated entering the final.
🥌 Bally Haly Cash Spiel - Team Symonds (NL) def. Team Thomas (NL). Symonds lost their opening RR game before reeling off 5 straight wins to claim the title. Thomas finished as runner-up with an overall record of 5-2.
🥌 Dave Jones Mayflower Cashspiel - Team Casey (PEI) def. Team Grattan (NB). Casey went undefeated in Halifax, qualifying out of the A-side and finishing with a record of 5-0. Grattan took the long road to the final, qualifying out of the #CSideGrind and finishing the weekend with an overall record of 5-3.
Women
🥌 Curling Stadium Alberta Curling Series - Team Kaufman (AB) def. Team Kitazawa (JPN). Kaufman went 5-1 to claim the title in Leduc, including avenging a RR loss to Kitazawa in the final. Kitazawa was 5-0 entering the final before taking their first loss of the event in the finale.
🥌 Bally Haly Cash Spiel - Team Strong (NL) def. Team Mitchell (NL). Strong went 5-1 in the double RR, splitting their games against fellow finalist Mitchell before taking the rubber match to win the championship. Mitchell advanced to the final with a 4-2 RR record.
🥌 Dave Jones Mayflower Cashspiel - Team Murphy (NS) def. Team Stevens (NS). Murphy went undefeated in Halifax, finishing the RR with a perfect 5-0 record to earn the bye to the final. Stevens was 4-1 in the RR and won the lone SF game (vs. Breen) to reach the final.
🥌 Tallinn Ladies International Challenger - Team Kaldvee (EST) def. Team Sutor (GER). Kaldvee went 2-2 in the RR to just reach the playoff round before knocking off Constantini (QF), Rorvik (SF) and Sutor (F) to win the title on home ice. #NextGen German juniors Sutor went 3-1 in the RR before knocking off back-to-back Swiss teams (Wuest, Hurlimann) to reach the final. Team Hurlimann (SUI) defeated Team Rorvik (NOR) for bronze.
Mixed Doubles
🥌 Aly Jenkins Memorial - Team Martin / Griffith (SK/BC) def. Team Walker / Muyres (AB/SK). Martin/Griffith went 3-1 in the RR, reaching the playoffs but needing to take the long path to the final. After losing their opening RR game, they won 7 straight games, including 4 straight playoff games, to win the title. Walker/Muyres entered the final undefeated, having wrapped up the RR with a 4-0 record and winning both playoff games to reach the final.
The Power Rankings took last week off due to scheduling so there are two weeks worth of results to take into consideration this week. Here is how the updated mountain looks heading into mid-November.
#PowerRankings
Women
1. Team Tirinzoni (1) - When you play 7 events, qualify each time, reach 5 finals and win 4 titles, is there really any other spot on the mountain for you other than on top? Can anyone stop them from winning the Euro title?
2. Team Gim (2) - They followed up their SF showing at the Tour Challenge by winning the Autumn Gold a few weeks ago in Calgary. They have played 9 events this season (not counting Korean Championships in June). They have qualified every time and have 2 titles to their credit.
3. Team Einarson (3) - They may be slightly disappointed to only leave Calgary with a bronze medal from #PCCC2023 but they accomplished the bigger picture goal of securing a world championship spot for Canada. And losing to Fujisawa is hardly a "bad loss" given their resume.
4. Team Fujisawa (HM) - Welcome back to the Top 10...except make it a Top 4! The new Pan Continental champions shoot up their rankings with their win. And while it did not always look pretty or dominating, great teams find ways to win. This team did just that. With all the talk about their struggles to win the "big one", this is a huge slide in the right direction. And, based on their reactions from winning the SF and final, you could tell this meant so much to the team.
5. Team Homan (4) - The Tour Challenge champs only drop down the rankings due to taking some much deserved time off coupled with the success of those teams above them. Look for them to hit the ice in Red Deer next weekend against a very stacked field.
6. Team Lawes (6) - They followed up their Tour Challenge QF result with a QF result at the Autumn Gold a few weekends ago. Consistent, consistent, consistent. They will welcome Laura Walker into the fold as skipper Kaitlyn Lawes prepares to become a mother. Wishing her and family all the best!
7. Team Hasselborg (10) - Gotta love a team who returns home to compete at an event on their home ice. Sure the field wasn't super strong in comparison to an event they could have played in Canada BUT their dedication to giving back and playing in front of home fans and family and friends is what we love to see. Plus they did take home the title! Looking good heading into Euro's.
8. Team Ha (HM) - The #NextGen Korean champs continue to surprise some and amaze the rest with their results this season. The run to the PCCC final was amazing as the team made some great shots and secured some nice wins along the way. Sure they went 0-2 vs. rival Fujisawa but winning a silver medal at the event is worth holding your head high. Remember, the majority of this team just won a world junior silver medal in 2020 (skipped by Kim Min-ji). The results they have put together this season, fresh out of juniors, is remarkable. Take notice of them!
9. Team Kitazawa (HM) - Does this team ever get tired? They just competed in their 9th event of the season this past weekend, reaching yet another championship final. The only "knock" we can say against this team is the ability to close out those finals. They have 5 final appearances but only 2 titles. They have reached the final in 3 of their past 4 events, but also lost all 3. However, on the plus side to support their ranking here, the motto wins out: consistency, consistency, consistency!
10. Team Wrana (7) - The #NextGen Swedes seem to be making their mark this season. TB at the opening slam. SF at the previous slam. And reaching the championship final two weeks ago at the tour event in Sweden (losing to rival Hasselborg). If the results over the past month continue moving forward for the rest of the season, expect them to be a regular fixture on the #PowerRankings mountain.
Hon. Mention: Team Jones, Team Grandy, Team Peterson, Team Keiser
Men
1. Team Edin (1) - If you were Edin's competition and saw them continue to win and put up solid results with only 3, do you start second guessing yourself? Get frustrated? If so, who can blame you? They win the Tour Challenge with 3. They win in Swift Current with 3. And this past weekend reached the SF in Penticton with 3. The SF loss to Dunstone snapped a 19-game winning streak for the team overall and a 14-game winning streak for the threesome. Amazing! Plus, did you see the spin rock shot Eriksson tried against Dunstone on Monday? It almost worked! The team did announce Daniel Magnusson will join them for the upcoming Euro's at lead position.
2. Team Gushue (2) - Gushue was the class of the PCCC field last week. Winning the gold medal just solidified them once again as the top team in Canada and the biggest threat to the #SwedishViking throne. Sure they took the early loss to USA's Dropkin but they responded and dominated the rest of the way.
3. Team Dunstone (3) - Back to back finals show Team Dunstone could be ready to take the label as the main contender to Gushue's Canadian title. Of course critics could flip the script and ask "but can they actually win a final?" It is more a question of "when" this season and not "if" though. It will happen. And when it does, the big cheque presentation will support the idea of #DunnyIsMoney!
4. Team Dropkin (4) - The Young Bucks followed up their Tour Challenge Tier II title with a bronze medal win at PCCC. A good result but, my guess is, the team will also be left wondering what could have been. The SF loss to Korea might sting a bit as this team looked like the main challenger to Canada all week. They did knock them off in the RR after all. But, on the positive, they rebounded from the loss to win the bronze and reach the podium. These Young Bucks are very dangerous when they have confidence and swagger in their sliders.
5. Team Koe (6) - As this new team hits the ice week in, week out, they look more and more dangerous and confident. Two weeks ago they reached the final in Swift Current. This past weekend the QF in Penticton. And they continue to quietly (literally!) move up the rankings mountain. Watch out!
6. Team Schwaller (5) - QF at the Tour Challenge was followed up by a QF result this past weekend in Basel. We should all be used to seeing this team on a playoff bracket by now. In regards to Euro's, are they secretly the "under the radar" favourite? Edin will have a minor lineup change. Mouat is just starting to hit their stride now. But Schwaller has been consistent all season. #ECC2022 will be fun!
7. Team Mouat (9) - The real Team Mouat has stood up over the past two events. The start of the season was rocky and they had some injury woes to get through but now this team is looking confident and ready to strike once again. QF at the Tour Challenge. SF this past weekend at Swiss Cup. They are hitting their stride at the exact right moment, leading into their attempt to #DefendTheIce at Euro's starting next week. I would be nervous playing them right now.
8. Team Whyte (NR) - Sure Team Whyte has been a little quiet as of late, going a combined 2-6 at back-to-back #gsoc events, but they seemed to really hit their stride this weekend in Basel. When you go undefeated to claim the title, people should take notice. And look at the teams they knocked off: Schwaller, Stocker, Walstad, Ramsfjell. All four are ranked within the Top 25 on the world rankings. A strong weekend for the young Scottish lads, hopefully building confidence for the second half of the season.
9. Team Retornaz (8) - The fan fav of the season, Joel Retornaz is playing lights out right now and posting his best season to date. The team followed up their QF result at the Tour Challenge by winning the tour event in Bern and reaching the QF last weekend in Basel. Could they become the dark horse championship contender in Sweden at Euro's? A podium threat for sure but no longer just a "bronze" threat. This team is a legit threat for gold.
10. Team Shuster (NR) - Speaking of a much-needed confidence boost, did anyone need to more than USA's Team Shuster? Heading into Penticton, the team sported a sub-.500 record of 6-7. They went 1-3 at the Tour Challenge Tier II. And people were starting to talk. Silence those doubts now folks after the team took home the title this weekend and posted an impressive 8-2 record. Their results included wins over highly ranked teams like McEwen, Flasch, Koe and Dunstone. Are they officially back in the convo and ready to make a play at the Young Bucks?
Hon. Mention: Team Ramsfjell, Team Walstad, Team Flasch, Team Sturmay, Team Vavrek
#StayTuned
The Canadian Mixed Curling Championships are underway in Prince Albert, SK. Stay up to date with all the results on the #CMCC2022 event site HERE.
Again, THANK YOU to World Curling Federation for allowing the #TwineTime blog to attend and cover #PCCC2022. It was great to meet so many athletes from so many nations. And thank you to those who followed along on social media with daily updates. Liking and sharing posts and sending your comments was greatly appreciated. Hopefully you enjoyed!
Until the rocks start spinning again over the weekend, stay warm as we welcome snow and winter weather.
